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Category Archives: Japan

I arrrived about 1,5hours agou at the airport and that’s onnly half time. I like to arrive early. But it seems that many people are the late ones. Every minute is an other call for passangers who are still missing. I wonder if they had made it. O_O

Even I’m a bit scared I’m also so excited to flight back to Japan, Tokyo (^o^)

Today I came across this Powderstick-Latte from Maxim with aStrawberry and Raspberry taste in the Supermarket.

I can’t withstand anything with strawberry flavor (or matcha <3). I HAVE to buy it. Being in Japan, that’s totally normal. Here you can find anything with Strawberry. I’m in paradise \(^ O ^)/

In 1 pack are only 4 sticks. It was 189 Yen (but prices differs in each supermarket. Where I bought it, it’s a bit more expensive) but minus 30 percent! Lucky~ 😀

It’s easy and quick to make:

Fill the powder into a cup.

Fill 130 ml hot water into the cup.

Stir it.

Enjoy~ ❤

First I was a bit sceptical. Normally things like this will taste better if you take hot milk instead of water, but it was tasty! Even the pieces of fruits on the top were great – fruity X3 I’m not a big fan of pieces in my drinks and in yoghurt, even if it’s fruits. But here it fits well and I would miss them (=^ _ ^=)

If you are in Japan or going to come, you should buy it, if you see it. Sooo delicious~ ❤

To get a short view into my/the life in Japan/Tôkyô I decided to Show you some Pictures I took since being here.

They are from different places in Tôkyô like Asakusa, Roppongi, Shinjuku, Odaiba etc., but also from Nikko, Hakone and Kyoto.
You have everything in it: Summer, Autumn, Winter, Spring, Sun, Rain and Snow 😉

All without any editing.
Nothing Special, but I hope, you will still like it 😀

I didn’t dare to go alone. I don’t know, but it’s kind of … weird… to go in such a place… as a tourist…

I like the Shintoism. But I’m not really into it. And I wanted to take pictures, because shrines are always so beautiful and so peaceful, I wanted to remember that.

I went with two other girls of my guesthouse. They are also from Germany. One of them is staying in Japan since spring already and is staying for 1 year too, but most of her time she spends in the apartment of her boyfriend. She is kind of weird… (sorry, I shouldn’t say something like that when I don’t know her well. But she is always soooo negative and has to be right, even if she isn’t =___= So I’m thinking all the time: “Girl, why don’t you enjoy your short time in Japan?!”) The other is really funny. But she is going in 1 week already u__u

Still, it was so great. We were almost the only visitors. It’s only a small shrine in my neighborhood. Called “Ana Hachiman-gu”. If you are near the Waseda Station, you should pay it a visit. It gives you a nice break from the loud and hectic live of the Metropolis and, in the summer, from the heat (^ o ^)

I left Germany in the afternoon of the 21st, I landed in Japan in the evening of the 22nd. Because of the 7 hour time difference it seemed like an even longer trip. But it was only about 19 hours.

(The first glimpse on the mountains of Japan.)

I was so exhausted when I arrived in Ueno via the Keisei Skyliner from Narita Airport. When I took the first step outside of the station, I felt like being thrown in hell (>__<;) I did know that it is extremely humid here, but I didn’t think it would felt like that! So before dieing I took a taxi to get to my hotel. It was staying at the Hotel “Villa Fountaine Ueno”. A japanese friend of mine made the reservation because she worked there a few years ago. It’s really nice there and also pretty cheap. I had to pay 7000Yen a night. The breakfast was also included! The room there was clean and nice furnished. Also I could see the Skytree~ I want to go back and to stay there the whole year~ XD

(The view out of my hotel room window. It was so cloudy that you couldn’t see the top.)

But well, today I had to move from my hotel in Ueno to my Guesthouse in Waseda. And it was even hotter and more humid. On the morning television they said it was 33°C and over 80% humidity!

I couldn’t do anything about it. So I packed my stuff and went outside. Lucky, my boardcase fit into one of my 2 bigger suitcases. But still I had 2 heavy suitcases and my backpack. It didn’t take 5 minutes until my clothes (hotpants and a fluffy babydoll top) were sticking on my skin. And all the Japanese seemed so fine and fresh. Only a few older men were using a towel for they tiny bit of sweat.

(At Narita Airport, while waiting for the Skyliner.)

As I finally arrived at my final station, I promptly ran into the wrong direction =__= But there came an angel in a body of a nice japanese lady, who could speak English fluent. She went along with me to my guesthouse. She is living near it, but it was still so kind of her :3 I’m so thankfull~

I decided to stay in this guesthouse because it’s cheap. Only 27000Yen for the first month! But… I have to share my room with about 9 other person (maybe more… I didn’t count the beds. Whatever. I have to go through this now. Hopefully I will find a job soon, so I can move out after my 1month-period ends. Wish me luck! 😉

Now I’m sitting in the shared living room, while waiting for the air conditioner in the sleeping room is going to start (either at 9pm or 10pm…) I finally wanna go to sleep. So tired. I could only sleep for 2 hours while the flight (I was too excited and had to watch movies XD I watched Iron Man 3, Oblivion, Hänsel&Gretel-The Witchhunters, and the Japanese Love for Beginners). And only 1 and later a half hour at the hotel (<___<) I really miss the cold German summer right now~

In 24 hours I will loading my suitcase into the car, taking my little brother 1 hour early from school and driving to the airport. My flight is going at 3.30 (german time). It’s the first long flight for me…. and the first time flying alone. Even so I will be relaxed being finally alone and having free time after all the stress I had in Germany the last weeks and always being together with my family, but still I’m kinda scared of flying and the possibility of crashing.

The last weeks I had so many bad dreams about flying. I was sitting in a plane. At first everything is fine. But then they did a looping over a forest. (Until here it’s still ok.) Suddenly we are in the middle of a big city, flying through the streets. Everywhere are high buildings, the sky cannot be seen. And then the streets become more and more narrow. The plane has to get some high but then there is a really, really high skyscraper right in front of us…

That’s the point I wake up every time. The heart is beating fast. The clothes are sticking on my body from all the sweat.

I don’t understand why I have all this dreams. Normally I don’t have anything against flying. The last time in a big plane is a few years ago, when I was traveling to Egypt. It took about 4 hours. I liked it. A few weeks ago I was flying with my mum in a small plane – a double-decker. I really wanted to fly with it. It was so much fun~ But they bad dreams didn’t stop after that either (u__u)

I just want to have it done and being in Japan – safe.

Oh, yea, I finally changed some money. Now I’m feeling rich~ Muahaha XD (And I even got many of the rare 2000Yen-bills :o)

When I was visiting the bank there was a trainee to help me. Maybe they thought I’m looking so young so I wouldn’t do more than getting money. As I told him I want to change money and that I already know, that it would take 10days but that I don’t know if the weekends are included and that I want to change bar and the money of my bank account, he got nervous. He had to go about 3 times to his superior and asked about every little thing, before she came herself.

I told her I will fly on Wednesday. I meant the one tomorrow, but I think she thought I meant the one last week (sorry >__<) I gave her my telephone number because she told me, she won’t get the Yen before Tuesday evening. But then I got a call on Tuesday morning. But I still was in Düsseldorf at that time, getting rid of my apartment. Because I forgot my phone at my mother’s place, she had to speak with my Mailbox. 24hours later I got another call from her. She sounded a bit panicked, telling me they will close early that day. I went to get the money on Thursday. She was so relived seeing me and that I’m not in Japan already XD

I think it was great. I went there on the 8th. Normally it will take 10 days getting the Yen from the main branch. But I already could have got it on the 13th. That’s only 5 days and there was a weekend between.

So, when I’m back in Germany I will think about going back to that bank (Volksbank). They are always nice and really want to help their customers. But for now I cancelled my bank account there, because I have another one. At an internet bank with free Visa-Card. I think I will have to get a japanese one, too. But I read a lot about the trouble which foreigners have, when they are trying to get an account at a bank in Japan. (>___<)

I was visiting my family that time. Because I didn’t want to wake up anyone, I stayed at bed and turned on my netbook. The first thing what I am always doing, was looking up the news and facebook. Germany and Japan has a 7 hour time-difference. So it was still early morning in my safe hometown, everyone were asleep and in dreamed about a colourful candy cotton world with pink unicorns, in the same time Japan was shaking and about to face a huge tsunami.

I was horrified by the news, the first pictures and videos. Were my friends in Tokyo fine? How many people were able to safe themselfs before the water devour the coastline? Could they safe children, elders, ill people, pets? (I know. Many people don’t think about the pets, at least they wouldn’t be one of their first thoughts. But I love animals. Wild and Farmanimals, well, it was clear that they couldn’t be saved But what about dogs and cats? Did they open the birdcages before executing their houses? Aren’t they something like children? For me they are. So I am always thinking about the pets. Sometimes I am scared, that some thief would come to my apartment or a fire would break out. The worst things that could happen in Germany, I think. So I am wondering if I could safe my cat or if he would hide and I wouldn’t be able to safe him. And sometimes when I am going over the streets or driving with car and so on, and thinking about how easily an accident could happen, I am not thinking about myself, I am only thinking about my cat, what would happen to him. Sorry, I didn’t want to write about that. It’s just that I can’t explain myself in english but still I want that other people can understand my feelings and the way I think about things.)

All day long I looked at the newstickers in the internet and watched some of the special announcements on television. Reading news and watching videos from all over the world, I got a bit confused about whom I should believe. From the japanese news I couldn’t get that much information, especially when the nuclear incident started. But I still think the german ones, like almost every news agencies fro the west, went to overboard with the fore-mongering. I still tending to believe more off the german than the japanese informations. But I don’t share the thoughts of my family and non-japan-related friends. I have the feeling they think that Japan is moribund, that you shouldn’t eat or drink anything what’s coming from Japan, even don’t touch anything what’s Japan imported. Let’s don’t speak about traveling to Japan. Now think about when I told them 2 years ago that I still want to go to Japan as soon as possible and stying there for 1 year. And when the crazy me were even speaking about living there for a longer time, if I would like it to live and work in Japan and get the chance. Even now, when everything calmed down a bit overseas, they seeing me death in a few years, because of contamination, earthquake, an other big tsunami, taifun or volcanic eruption. But still they are feared most of the contamination.

I know that. I know that all. But I put up with it. It’s my dream going to Japan. Since so many years. Why should I wait 20, 30 or more years? There would always be something why you shouldn’t go. I couldn’t get the working holiday visa then. I would have a family by then (hopefully). I could die by anything else before that. It’s highly possible that I would have cancer by then (because of my genetic), so why should I wait? That’s my families main point, right? That I would get cancer because of the radiation. But I would get it either way. They know it. They should know it. Either way I can’t tell them.

This day made me thinking about the death. Thinking about my live. My dreams. It was depressing. But now I can appreciate the present more. I’m always admiring those persons, who are living the day as it could be their last. Days filled with thinking are letting me aproach that mindset more and more.

Back to the topic:

I took a minute’s silence and praying for the victims of 3/11.

I hope the dead people found peace. I hope the aggrieved party will find happiness again. I hope the nuclear meltdown won’t go any worse. I hope Japan won’t have to suffer like that anytime again. I hope the people from all over the world will take it as a warning, taking it as a second chance to change their live, to change the world. Even if we could only little babysteps, at least we should try to get a better world for future generations.